Why Can't I?
by SkyAngel92
Summary: Hinata just wanted to live out her life peacefully and honorably, but when she's denied her inheritance and sent to marry Gaara, how will she handle it? Can she really live with someone she doesn't know? GaaxHina
1. Prologue: Why Can't I?

Prologue: Why Can't I?

A young wide-eyed girl sat on the ground cradling her love's head in her lap. She was crying and trying to ignore the battle around her. She wasn't ready for this. He shouldn't have brought her here. She couldn't focus, couldn't concentrate. She was useless, and now he was dying.

She looked up as a kunai landed at her side. She turned to the battle. People she had loved were now tearing each other apart. She had tried to keep the balance and peace, but he had been able to ruin it so easily. His plan was to destroy them all, and it was working better than he could've thought. Not only were the villages being destroyed, but they were destroying each other.

She stood up and pulled the red-headed young man away from the battle. He was heavier than she had thought, but the rain made it easier. She pulled him behind a bush and sat down again. She leaned back and relaxed against the bush, trying to gain some sense of control over herself. It was only moments until someone would find her, then what?

She looked down when she heard a soft cough from the red-headed man. He was regaining consciousness again. She leaned down and tried to elevate his head to keep blood flowing properly. He opened his eyes and looked straight into her face. She bit back the sorrow she felt from seeing those dying eyes.

"You're okay," He whispered softly.

"Of course I am. I have to take care of you, right?" She told him. She tried to smile but couldn't.

"I want you to get out of here. Leave, quickly! He'll kill you, too, just for being with me," The young man urged. The girl shook her head.

"I won't leave you out here to die!" She insisted.

"You don't get it! He wants all the kages dead and anyone close to them! Shizune is already dead! You'll be next if you don't leave!" He insisted.

"Then I will be in heaven with you," She told him. He shook his head.

"I want you to live. Live and be happy, don't sacrifice your life for me." She shook her head.

"I won't ever be happy without you. Don't leave me!" She urged. Her head snapped up when she heard some noise close to them.

"Go, now. You can still make it," The young man told her. She shook her head again. She tried to concentrate on seeing who was there but the fear, pain, sadness, rain, and tears just seemed to be blocking everything out

She looked back down to her lap. The young man was gone. She looked up and around herself. She wasn't behind the bush anymore. She had no idea where she was. "Genjutsu," She whispered. She tried to break it but failed.

"Pathetic attempt," a voice said behind her. She turned around but no one was there.

"Go on, try again," The voice said. She moved her hands hesitantly, then tried again when nothing bad happened. Nothing.

"I expected more from a Byakugan user, but I guess you really are a disappointment. I didn't believe it when I first heard it, but I guess they weren't lying," Suddenly a tall man, about the same age as the girl, appeared before her. He had dark hair and a long sword. But what was really noticeable was his eyes. The Sharingan.

"Uchiha Sasuke," She whispered. He smiled.

"I feel honored. The Hyuuga princess knows my name," Suddenly the red-head appeared beside her again. She turned to look at him, then turned back to the Uchiha. "You better take care of him. Aren't you a medic?"

He was right, but she wasn't able to do anything before. She couldn't focus her chakra. Somehow, though, she felt she could concentrate more now. She turned to help Gaara. She focused her chakra on his injuries and tried to heal them as best she could. Sasuke turned to leave, but said one more thing, "You owe me one, Hyuuga. Till next time!" Then he left her there to heal her loved one.

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Author's Note: Okay, so now I have two fanfictions running. Maybe between the two of them one of them will end up getting updated once a week. I just had to put this down, though, while I had it in my mind. Hinata is my favorite character and I kind of love Gaa x Hina now. :D Sorry if you don't like but I do:P

Oh, and this is one of those 'in the middle' beginnings. Next chapter takes you back to the beginning and tells you the how we get up to this point, then I start to wrap the story up. And the characters are 19 now in the story! xD Enjoy!

Sky


	2. Chapter 1: Tears

Chapter 1: Tears

The young girl pulled her cloak up tighter to cover her face as she said goodbye to the three people she was closest to. It had been so hard and she had tried not to cry, but she couldn't fight back the tears for much longer. She didn't want them to see her cry, though. It would just cause more problems.

She opened the door to the carriage and climbed in. It was going to be a three day journey, and seeing as she was about to make a strong pact between two powerful villages no one thought it very polite to make her walk the journey. She had never been in a carriage, and she wished that her first, and probably only time, hadn't been to leave those she loved behind.

Although, it seemed the only people to miss her were her three companions, Kiba, Shino, and Kurenai-sensei. No one else really seemed to notice she was leaving, not even the man she was in love with, Naruto. Her cousin had been concerned, but she was only given the night to pack and was leaving in the morning, not giving her and her cousin much of a chance to talk. She had desperately needed his advice, but now it was too late.

Once inside the carriage the young girl pulled the door shut and removed her cloak. She looked out the window and watched as the carriage pulled away from her only home, leaving everyone she cared about behind. She watched as the village became smaller and smaller until it was only a dot on the horizon. When she could no longer see it she turned around and laid her head in her hands and cried.

As she sat there crying memories of the night before came flooding back.

_"Hinata! Neji! Come with me," Her father said looking down at the two. They had been sitting in front of the orchard drinking tea and talking about their day when her father had spoken to them. Both of them knew it was unwise to ignore his command, so they sat their cups down and got up to follow him._

_He led the pair into a private meeting room where they sat down on two mats. Her father sat in front of them and looked the pair over. After a long moment of silence he spoke. "Hinata, I am removing your rank as heir and naming Neji heir in your place," He said._

_At first Hinata thought she had misunderstood. Her father had been so straight-forward and blunt. Surely this wasn't how he would tell his daughter she had just lost everything? But after a few seconds it seemed that this was his news. Her eyes widened with shock. She looked over at Neji. He sat still and erect. He looked unfazed by the news, but then he spoke._

_"Surely this is a mistake?" He asked._

_"No. I'm sorry Hinata to do this to you, but you are too timid and shy to be the strong leader the Hyuuga clan needs. We have decided a different route for you instead," He told them._

_Hinata was in tears now. She looked down at the ground to try and hide it, but she knew that they both saw it. After a moment she regained herself and looked at her father. "I will do what is best for the Hyuuga clan," She said softly._

_Her father nodded. "As expected. As you both know, it has been seven years since the Sand attacked Konoha under command of the impersonated Kazekage. Over the past seven years Konoha has been rebuilding our alliance with the Sand. We need something strong and compact to keep everything going well. We need some over there." He told her._

_Hinata knew he meant her. He was trying to give her something else to do to distract her from the fact that she was being denied her inheritance. "I will do what is best for the Hyuuga clan," She said again._

_Her father sighed. "Hinata, we need more than an ambassador. We need a marriage." Neji and Hinata both looked shocked. Neji was outraged by this. He jumped up and was nearly yelling at her father._

_"We cannot do this to her! She is a member of our clan! We can't just send her away. Her place is here with-"_

_"Neji, sit down. You forget who you are talking to," Hiashi said sternly. Neji looked as if to continue before Hinata cut him off._

_"I'll be okay, Neji nii-san," Hinata told him. "I will serve the Hyuuga clan as they see fit. May I ask who I'll be marrying, though?"_

_"You are already married," Her father said. Hinata's eyes grew wide for a moment but she controlled herself. "Your husband has signed the papers and I signed them for you and the marriage was approved by the Fifth."_

_Hinata tried to control the tears once again. She had no choice. She was already married in the eyes of the law and there was no way around it._

_"You will leave tomorrow morning. So go pack now," Her father told her. Hinata nodded and stood up and hurried to leave. She stopped at the door when her father cleared his throat. "Your husband is Subaku no Gaara," he told her._

_Hinata nodded and left. Once outside the room she let the tears flow freely._

Hinata stopped crying suddenly. She willed herself to calm down and relax. It wouldn't be that bad. He was probably a nice guy and was a suitable match. Hiashi wouldn't just give her away to anybody. Would he?

It didn't matter. After that night Hinata promised herself to be stronger. Not to let the little things get to her. To stand up for herself. In the Village Hidden in the Sand no one knew who she was. She could start over. She could finally have a better life.

Hinata looked out the window again. She smiled to herself. This new life would definitely suit her. Only three days to get to it, though.

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Author's Note: Okay, so now I have two fanfictions running. Maybe between the two of them one of them will end up getting updated once a week. I just had to put this down, though, while I had it in my mind. Hinata is my favorite character and I kind of love GaaHina now. :D Sorry if you don't like but I do:P Enjoy!

Edit: Thank you Jbramx2 for pointing out some mistakes. xD I forgot to mention who her three friends were and made a grammar error with Hiashi that kind of ruined his seriousness. So, yeah. Had to fix it. The reason this chapter is so short is because it was originally the prologue, which is also why its kind of vague at the beginning. I like to make my prologues vague for fun. xD But the next chapter will be better. She gets to meet Gaara! Yay:D

Sky


	3. Chapter 2: Not So Bad

Chapter 2: Not So Bad

The three days journey to the Village Hidden in the Sand seemed shorter than Hinata thought it would be. It seemed hardly anytime at all. Maybe it was because the more you dreaded doing something the quicker it seemed to get there, and she definitely dreaded this, but she wasn't going to show it.

Hinata remembered when she first set sights on the sand. The trees seemed to stop suddenly and the view was full of never ending hills of sand. She knew what it meant. She knew the ending of the trees signified the ending of her previous life. She was no longer a Leaf ninja. She had wanted to cry, but she reminded herself to be strong. This was her only chance at a new life.

When she finally made it to the Village Hidden in the Sand she remembered the towering wall that protected the city and kept its inhabitants safe. She remembered how when she was 15 the walls had been breached the Kazekage kidnapped. She didn't know the Kazekage at all. All she remembered of him was the young boy that had killed in the chuunin exam just for getting a dirty look. She was afraid her husband would still have that same personality, intensified by his power and anger at being caught those years ago.

Finally the carriage came to a halt. She saw people gathered around outside. They were all anxious to see their Kazekage's new wife. Who else could it be in the carriage? Carriages were a rare luxury. Hinata was nervous. There were so many people here. She hadn't expected anything like this. The driver came around and opened her door. The dim carriage was flooded with light. Hinata took a deep breath. Now or never. She lifted up the skirt of her dress and stepped outside the carriage.

It was quiet. No one said a word. Hinata almost felt like turning around and running back into the carriage, but instead chose to hold her head high and ignore the onlookers.

"Hinata-san!" She heard someone call. She turned to look at who was addressing her. A blonde girl stepped forward. She appeared to be a little older than Hinata. There was something about this girl that was so familiar. Then Hinata noticed the big fan on the girl's back and she realized this was the girl on the Kazekage's team during the chuunin exam. The blonde girl bowed to her and Hinata returned the bow. "Welcome to our Village, Hinata-san. Please follow me and I'll take you to Gaa- I mean the Kazekage."

The girl turned and began to walk towards the crowd. The crowd parted before her to form a path. Hinata turned to get her bags but the carriage was gone. She hoped they would return her stuff to her. She turned around and followed the girl.

While walking through the area Hinata couldn't help but notice all the buildings were made of sand. Such work and beauty put into these structures amazed Hinata. She had never realized how much someone could do with sand alone.

The pair approached the tallest building at the center of the village. Hinata knew this was where they would find the Kazekage. One of the shinobi or something opened the door for the two, obviously she was expected. Once Hinata entered she found more eyes focused on her. It made her uncomfortable, but she tried to see her way through it.

"Temari! Is this her?" She heard a man shout out. She turned to see the speaker. He was a tall man with purple paint on his face and a mummy-looking thing on his back. This man had been the other member of the Kazekage's team.

"Kankuro! You've ruined it now, you know?" Temari said. The two stopped to talk to the young man.

"Ruined what?" He replied looking confused.

"The respect! This is Gaara's wife and you have to shout something disrespectful like that! What she must think of us now!" Temari told him.

"I-i-its," Hinata cleared her throat. "It's not a problem," She said and smiled. "I understand."

Temari smiled. "Glad to hear Gaara's wife isn't a snob. I was afraid you might be since you're heir to the Hyuuga clan." Hinata hung her head. "Oh, did I say something wrong?" Temari said, looking concerned.

Hinata blinked the tears away real quick then looked up and smiled. "Not at all. I'm just the former heir now, though."

Temari looked empathetically at her. "I'm so sorry to hear that. We were told you went into this marriage willingly, though?"

Hinata shook her head. "My father signed my name for me. He has the right to, being my father and clan leader." Temari looked more upset." Not that I wouldn't have! The news just came too suddenly," Hinata added quickly.

"Well, we'll just have to make you feel right at home, now. Besides, you've got a title better than clan leader. The Kazekage's wife. A very important role, you know. The Kazekage's wife must keep him calm and sane and advise him," Temari said, trying to cheer Hinata up.

"And please him!" Kankuro added, which earned him a hard slap in the back of the head from Temari. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You did it again!" She yelled at him.

"Did what?"

"You were disrespectful!"

"Was not!"

"Do you really think Hinata-san wants to hear you talking like that?"

"I was just telling the truth."

"Well next time keep it to yourself."

Hinata laughed at the pair. They acted like real siblings, not the usual distant relationship Hinata was used to between her and Hanabi. Hinata's laughter seemed to remind the pair of her presence.

"Heh heh. Well, we better go introduce you to Gaara," Temari said. She turned and began to lead the way again. Hinata followed her and Kankuro followed her. She heard him mutter something about how lucky Gaara was to have her as a wife and she could only blush at his comment.

After a few turns down a hallway or two the group stopped in front of two wide doors. Temari knocked on it and was answered with an 'enter' from someone inside. Temari opened the doors and ushered Hinata to come in. Once Hinata was in Temari and Kankuro followed.

Standing in the room were two men. One wore a shinobi outfit and the other was a redhead around her age. He stood of to the side and looked a little anxious.

"Gaara, meet Hinata. Hinata, Gaara," Temari introduced.

The young man walked up to Hinata. Hinata felt her heart beat faster. She hadn't ever been this close to many men, mainly her teammates. When she looked at him his face seemed softer, less harsh then when she remembered from the chuunin exam. He reached down and took her hand in his and brought it to his face. He kissed it gently.

"Welcome to the Village Hidden in the Sand, Hinata-san," He spoke with kindness. "I, the Kazekage Gaara, am pleased to have you here as my wife." And all Hinata could do was smile. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

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Author's Notes: Sorry for late update. Especially sorry to son13 who threatened to beat me with a box of instant mashed potatoes and a turkey sandwich if I didn't update. xD I've been kind of in a rut and not all inspired. But it's coming back to me! Next update will be the next two chapters of Fear, then the next two of this story. Got to balance them out. Peace!

Sky


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